Rotary back-up post



March 18 1924.

W. J. MILLER ROTARY BACK-UP POST Filed Jan. 5, 1922 ,l Emi. I

Inventor:

Patented Mar. 18, 1924.

WILLIAM .L MILLER, or SULPHUR, LOUISIANA, AssrGNoR 'ro c. r1 REED, or*

. HoUs'roNftrEXns.

ROTARY BACK-Ul? `POST.

Application led January 3, 1922.' Serial No. 526,615.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. MILLER, a citizen `of the United States, -and resident.

of Sulphur', Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Back-Up Posts, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to well drilling apparatus and particularly to what is known as a back-up post which is used on` the rotary in the operation of unscrewingv one drill stem section from another, the post being employed to apply power to the wrench or tong for rotating one stem section in relation to thenext adjacent sectlon above while the latter is anchored, by another tong, to a part of the derrick.

In the drawings Y Figure 1 is a View of the invention in side elevation.

Fig. 2 is an edge view at a quarter turn from Fig. '.1.

Fig. 3 is a view in the nature` of a diagram of a rotary with the invention in place.' I

In these drawings, 1 `is the post, the lower end of which is adapted to be seated in an opening or socket in the rotary. The upper portion of the post is slotted at 2 and the walls are extended to form ears 3 in which is mounted a pin 4 forming alpiyot for a latch 5, which holds the post sectlon v or extension 6 in upright position. This extension or member 6 is p ivoted about midway of its length on a. pm 7 extending be- 'iween and supported by the upper walls or ears 8 of the post andA the lower end of the pivoted member 6 is reduced and engages a notch 9v in the upper edge of the latch. The latch-is pressed upwardly by a spring 10. Its end 12 extends out beyond the post so as to be readily accessible to pressure or to the blows of a hammer so that it may be depressed readily to release the pivoted bearing member 6, which latter maythen fall into the position shown in dotted lines.

This 0st is used on the rotary table as a means or driving a heavy chain or other pipe tong I), gripping the drill stem below a joint to be broken or unscrewed. The practice is toattach a heavy tong C to the drill stem above the joint to be'broken, the said tong being anchored by a cable to a leg of the derrick. This tong holds the upper portion of the drill stem in a rigid position.

rotation unscrews the joint to be broken.

After the joint has been unscrewed,`theback up p.ost,.-of course, is very tightly pressed against the handle of the lower tong. Where the practice has been to use a plain solid steel bar for a back-up post, it has been necessary to do heavy sledging to release the friction of the tong handle against the backup post. and a great amount of time is consumed in releasing the tong.

IVith the present invention the back-up post would be brought by the rotary around so that the upper pivoted be vmember latched in its upright position will engage the lower tong or wrench and transmit there-4 to from the rotary the necessary ower to break the joint by unscrewing tlie parts. Then, after the rotary has been stopped, the projecting end of the latchwill be hit with a hammer, driving it downward against the pressure of its spring, thus releasing the pivoted bearing or pressure transmitting pin 6 and this member then will drop back freeing the back-up tong handle, enabling the tong to be readily removed.

For unscrewing the next joint the bearing or pressure member will be lifted to upright position and the operation repeated.

The back-.up post is held in its operative position by a taper key 11 which is seated in a groove 12 of the post having an `inclined bottom 13.

The upper part of the post isof-set laterally from the lower part so that the piv-- oted section or arm 6 is located to one side of the vertical axis, and when the arm 6 is in contact with the arm ofv the tongs, the whole'back-up post will be prevented' from turning out of its working position. l

The use of this back-up post will avoid the necessity of reversin the rotary. This involves heavy labor on t e part of the men on the derrick, and is objectionable for other reasons.

I claim:

1. A back-up post for the rotary of vwell drilling apparatus comprising a main portion furnishing a support and aA bearing member at the upper part of said support pivoted thereto to one side of the vertical axis thereof, and means for holding the This is heavy labor for the men I bearing member in substantially upright position, substantially as described.

A. back-up post for rotary drill apparatus consisting of a main portion to be mounted on a rotary, a bearing or pressure member pivotally mounted at the upper part of said post, land a latch for holdingthe said member in substantially an erect position to bear on the handle oa wrench mounted on a drill stem section, said latch engaging the lower end of :the pivoted bearing member,V and releasing the same when forced downwardly Y 3. A back-up post for the rotary of Well drilling apparatus comprising a main part, a bearing section pivoted tothe upper part thereof, and a latch pivotally mounted and extending substantially transversely of the for 'forcing it Yinto position to release the pivoted bearing section, substantially as del scribed.

14. A back-up post for the rotary of well drilling apparatus having an upper portion off-set from the lower portion, a member pivoted in the upper off-set portion whereby it lies eccentric Eto the vertical axis of the post and a latch for holding said member in V'upright position, substantially as described. Y

In testimony whereof, I aHiXn my signature;

WLLIAM J. MaLLER. 

